Muntakhab al-tawarikh 78.8
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 78.8
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78.8.1
The explanation of this circumstance is briefly as follows: When the imperial army drew near to Sikandar and Bahadur, they remaining just where they were (P. 80) sent a message to Mir Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk: “Become thou the means of intercession, and obtain for us from the Court forgiveness of our faults, so that we may send to the Court whatever, of elephants and other things, we have taken possession of, and then when we are cleared of our transgressions, and our faults are forgiven, we may ourselves go and do homage.” Mir Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk in as much as he was continually boasting: “I, and there is none beside me”, showed a Pharaoh-like, and harsh Shaddad-like character, which is one of the inheritances of the Sayyids of Mashhad; and on that topic it has been said:— “O men of Mashhad, with the exception of your Imam May the curse of God rest on each one of you!” And another poet saith:— “Though it is man that renders the face of the ground pleasant, A Mashhadi on the face of the ground is not pleasant.”
78.8.2
So he established a character for crookedness of disposition, for which he became notorious, and said: “Your being made clean can only be imagined by the water of the sword”. Meanwhile Lashkar Khān, Mīr Bakhshī and Rājā Todar Mal came from the Court to hasten the decision of the Amīrs, whether for peace or war. So that, if they thought it best, they might fight; but if not, they might hold out hopes to Sikandar and Bahādur. So Bahādur Khān came again to the outposts of the imperial camp alone, and sending for Mīr Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk and some of the Amīrs, he made proposals of peace, saying: “Since the Khān Zamān is sending his mother, and Ibrāhīm Khān to the Court, or rather by this time will have sent them, we have hopes of the forgiveness of our transgressions, and indeed this is the most probable contingency. Meanwhile we are awaiting the answer, and until the affair be settled we will not put our hand to war. Do you too, until the answer arrive, wait a few days.” Mīr Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk was a very fire, and Todar Mal played the part of oil of naphtha, and made that fire burn fiercer than ever, so that nothing but words of sternness passed on their tongue. So Bahādur Khān and Iskandar Khān, becoming desperate, did what they thought best for their own interests, and drew up their army: — “In the time of necessity, when there is no escape, The hand seizes the hilt of the sharp sword”.
78.8.3
On the one side Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk, putting Muḥammad Amīn Dīvānah in the van, himself took up his position in the centre, and kept by his side ‘Abd-ul-Maṭlab Khān, and Salīm Khān, and Kākar ‘Alī Khān, and Beg Nūrīn Khān, and other tried warriors, and appointed the other Amīrs to the right and left wings. And on the other side were Sikandar Khān, and his relative Muḥammad Yār Harāwal and Bahādur Khān was in the centre. Then the two armies joined battle, and like two mountains they clashed together. Much valour was displayed on either side, Muḥammad Yār was slain, and Iskandar Khān fleeing, threw himself into the River Siyāh which was in his rear. He himself got out again, but many of his men were drowned, and others came under the āb of the sword. Then the imperial troops gave themselves up to plundering. And Mīr Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk, with a few men, was the only officer who kept his place. For to tell the truth the body of tried warriors, especially Husain Khān the relative of Mahdī Qāsim Khān and Bāqī Muhammad Khān, &c., being sick of the command of Mīr Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk and of the rule of Rāja Todar Mal, in accordance with the [Arabic] saying: “There is no fidelity towards kings”, did not make that resistance they should have done. At this moment Bahādur Khān, who still held his ground, seized the opportunity, and moved forward to the attack. Directly he came up, he swept Mīr Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk before him.
78.8.4
And Shāh Budāgh Khān was thrown from his horse, but not before he had given substantial proof of his valour, and his son ‘Abd-ul-Matlab, putting forth as much strength as he could, seized him by the hand, but in vain. Eventually the son escaped and the father fell into the hands of Uzbeks: — “When he was free from sorrow, he reckoned him a dear friend, When he came to grief, he deserted him.” And Rāja Todar Mal, and Lashkar Khān, who at the beginning had remained inactive, began now to fight vigorously, until evening, but without success. They became separated, but the next day they rejoined one another, and came to Sher-gadh, and reported the state of affairs to the Court. And now we come to the point where we left off about the Khān Zamān. When the Khān Khānān brought to the Court the mother of the Khān Zamān, and Ibrāhīm Khān, together with Mīr Hādī Sadr and Nizām Āghā, who were trusty friends of the Khān Zamān, and presented the war-elephants to His Majesty, then Ibrāhīm Khān, with head bare, and a sword and a shroud round his neck in the place of a cloak, delivered himself up, and said in an impromptu: — “Wilt thou spare me, or wilt thou slay me, The option lies with thee.”
78.8.5
Moreover the Khan Khanan, taking up the position of intercessor, reminded the Emperor of the past services of their party, so that their offences received pardon. The Emperor commanded that they should be left in possession of their jagirs as heretofore, but that, as long as the Imperial camp remained in that place, they should not cross the river. So their representatives came to Agrah, and the Emperor issued the necessary farmans, in accordance with which they took possession. The mother of the Khan Zaman sent this good news to her sons, and Bahadur Khan and Sikandar Khan sent the elephants, Koh-parah and Qal'ah-shikan, two very quarrelsome females, together with other presents, to the Court. Meanwhile the report from Raja Todar Mal and Lashkar Khan arrived, containing an account of the battle and the flight, and of the treachery of the Amirs. Then the Emperor ordered: “Since to please the Khan Khanan I have overlooked the fault of the Khan Zaman and the others, let the great Amirs come to the Court.” Mu‘izz-ul-Mulk and Raja Todar Mal were reprehended, and the perpetrators of the treachery were for a time debarred from the imperial presence; and then, were rebuked, and restored to their former favour. In these days the Emperor made an expedition to the fortress of Chunar, and, being engaged in elephant-hunting in the jungles about that fortress, took to camp-life.
78.8.6
While the Emperor’s camp was at Chunar, the Khan Zaman crossing the Ganges in haste, and breaking his word, came to Muhammadabad, which is a dependency of the town of Mou, and sent agents to seize Jounpur and Ghazipur. This affair highly displeased the Emperor, who sent Ashraf Khan Mir-munshi to Jounpur, to detain the Khan Zaman’s mother in the fortress, and to seize any rebels there might be there; and, leaving the camp in charge of Khwajah Jahan, and Muzaffar Khan, himself hurried off by forced marches with the intention of exterpating the Khan Zaman, and arrived at the bank of the river Sarwar. There some boats laden with goods and effects, which were equal to one of the seven treasures of Khusrou, fell into the hands of the royal party. The imperial army occupied the bank of the river, and had traversed a considerable tract of jungle, when it became known that the Khan Zaman had retired to the skirts of the mountains of Sawalik. So they gave up the pursuit of him and returned. Meanwhile Bahadur Khan with a body of tried warriors came to Jounpur, and throwing up a noose, climbed into the fortress, and released his mother; and, seizing Asraf Khan, was fully determined to loot and pill, when he received intelligence of the return of the imperial standards. So he fled, and with Sikandar Khan crossed the Ganges at the ford of Narhan. And on the 15th of the month Rajab, which is the auspicious birthday of the Emperor, (P.
78.8.7
84) outside the Parganna of Nazamabad, one of the dependencies of Jounpur, the weighing of the Emperor took place; for, in accordance with established custom, he is weighed twice a year, on his solar and lunar birthdays, against gold, silver, and other precious things, which are given to the Brahmins of Hind, and to others. And the poets recited, and still do recite, heart-ravishing poems on this topic. Then his Majesty detemined to remain for some time in the citadel of Jounpur. Then the Khan Zaman on hearing of his remaining there, sent Mirza Mirak (who afterwards became Razawi Khan) to intercede on his behalf with the Khan Khanan. He went along with Khan Zaman’s mother, and brought the message to the Court. So the Khan Khanan, in conjunction with Mir ‘Abd-ul Latif Qazwini, and Mulla ‘Abd-u-llah Makhdum-ul-Mulk, and Shaikh ‘Abd-un-Nabi Sadr a second time prayed for the pardon of the offences of the Khan Zaman, and was graciously accepted. And they sent Khwajah Jahan, and Mir Murtaza Sharifi, who is of the family of that paragon of the human race, the very eleventh Intelligence, Mir Sayyid Sharif Jurjani (sanctified be his grave !), and Makhdum-ul-Mulk to bring the Khan Zaman to repent of his rebellion, and to convey the glad tidings of his pardon to the ear of his soul. The Khan Zaman came to meet them, and, as was required, took an oath of allegiance, and then dismissed their Excellencies with marks of honour and respect.